Changes
by ACeH-aH
Summary: Set at Damon and Stefan's return after Alaric's creation. The brother's are about to find out exactly what it is they've missed during their two week adventure.
1. Prologue

It hadn't been an extraordinarily long trip, but sufficed to say, they both missed her an extraordinary amount. Elena Gilbert, the doppelganger. Oh how both "men" were in love with her. They're driving back now, finally the town boarders in sight. Nervous suddenly, they both began fidgeting, unable to make conversation through the tension. She would pick one of them. Which one she would pick, they couldn't fathom. _When _she would pick, they hadn't the slightest.

"Damon," Stefan started uneasily, "whichever she picks, we're still brothers." It was a statement, that sounded ever so slightly like a question in the bronze haired man's insecurities.

"Still brothers." Damon replied with a nod. Still not looking at each other, they continued down the road.

Her house now in plain sight, the brothers brace themselves for what is next to come. Jeremy is in the yard, a good sign that a) they're home, and b) they're safe.

Climbing out of the car, Stefan calls his welcome to the boy who had been for quite some time, nearly his in law. "Jeremy!" He shouts from beside the car, where the door makes more noise than he'd meant for when he closes it a little too hard. Flinching, he continues up to the house. "Jeremy, it's been a while." He states lamely, reaching to shake the boy's hand.

"Yeah, like two weeks." Jeremy says with a hint of sarcasm, and a secret wish for it to have been longer. He shakes the hand outstretched to him, but not without malice.

"Well, we couldn't stay away too long. One day already felt like a year."

"You've missed enough for it to be a year." Jeremy smirked to himself when he thought of how Stefan's reaction would be to the most recent news.

"It's so great to see you two bonding," Damon quips as he comes up behind his fellow vampire. "is Elena home?" His expression shows little sign of gladness to see the Gilbert boy.

"Yeah, she's inside." Jeremy's reluctance is not lost on them. They approach the house together, and when they reach the door, Jeremy, who is now uncomfortably behind them, puts his arm through to the door unsuccessfully. "I think it should already be open, if you want to just go in." Ignored though, the door opens for them.

Standing in front of them, in the shadows of the hallways, is an ever so satisfied looking original vampire.

"Klaus." Stefan noted, while he and his brother enter a dramatic stare down, like they had so many times before.


	2. The Beginning

"Hey Klaus," Jeremy pushes past the dumbstruck vampires and into the house.

"What he said," Damon pipes up. "What are you doing here, and who did you torture into inviting you in?" Still too shocked to move, they remain on the porch.

"Damon, Damon! Elena invited me in herself!" Amusement glitters in his eyes as he watches the brother's growing discomfort.

"Elena!" Stefan calls, rushing into the house, followed by his dark haired brother.

"tsk, tsk, She's not here boys, be gentle." Klaus purrs.

"Where is she?" Damon snarls, stepping into the dangerous personal space of his sworn enemy. "Where is Elena?"

Angrily, Klaus steps away from them and into the living room, taking a seat on the couch next to Jeremy. As the brothers watch in horror, he lifts the remote, and flips on the television. Unexpected move, well played. But something fishy is definitely going on.

When Elena enters the room, both men's eyes light up when they see her in one piece. Smiling even. She doesn't notice them though. Instead, she's taken her own seat on the couch, between her brother and arch nemesis. But why? Smiling up at Klaus, she sees him put his arm on the back of the couch behind her, and she accepts in happily.

"Ok, _what _is going on here?" Elena starts at the sound of Damon's voice.

"Damon!" She squeals. "And Stefan." Hand over her heart, she stands up. "When did you get back?"

"Just now, to see _this._"

"Elena, what's going on?" Stefan asks. "Where's your necklace?" He's compelled them, he must have.

"I'm still wearing it..." Elena mumbles, lifting it off her shirt.

"I don't understand... How?"

"It goes like this Stef," Klaus leans back, arm a little _too _casual behind Elena. "the Salvetore brother's took off, and someone had to step in to take care of the Gilberts." He smiles triumphantly, egotistically.

"What did you do to her?" Damon crosses the room, hands coming to rest upon Klaus' collar.

A little startled, Klaus' eyes widen. It takes him less than a second to recompose himself. "Come on now Damon, you can't say you didn't see this coming." He tilts his head to the side, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Why don't we go in the kitchen." Elena jumps up, eager to pull the breaks on the forming violence.

"Yeah, Elena, let's do that." Stefan follows her into the other room, followed by his rigid brother.

"Elena, tell me. What is going on?" He demands fiercely.

"Ok, ok, it goes like this..."

"I don't think it'll set to well with the _Salvatores _if you're hanging out here all the time." Jeremy is flipping through channels on the television, not really seeing what's on, but still pushing the button over and over.

"So what, are you banning me from your house?" Klaus chuckles.

"No." A snarky grin lights up the boys face as he thinks of how much less the vampire brothers would be hanging around the house if Klaus stayed around.

"You never did like them did you?"

Only nodding his reply, they returned to a silence of watching the channels flip.

Things would be different this time around. They'd set their priorities. Elena would either chose a Salvatore, or they'd both have to get out of their lives; and Klaus was around to ensure it. Jenna, Alaric, Jeremy, and all of Elena's friends put together, hadn't been able to force this act upon her; but it seemed that maybe Klaus' authority would change her.

**(A/N: I know this chapter is short, but it's gonna be a one short chapter one long chapter kind of pattern. ... It works in my head.)**


	3. First of Many

**Elena POV**

_I had no idea how long it would be before I saw them again. After Alaric made it clear that he was coming after them, the Salvatore brothers took off. The stopped Klaus' heart. And they left._

_I'm safe. Damon and Stefan aren't here to protect me, but Alaric is. And since I am the only thing keeping Alaric alive, he'll make sure I'm safe. At least until he's finished killing off the entire vampire race, in which case all of those I hold dear; Stefan and Damon, Caroline, Tyler... They'll all be dead, and I'll have no reason to stay alive anyway. Everyone I ever loved is either dead, or at death's door. Truth is, I'm not so sure if I can handle being alive now at all. I live every second of my life, absolutely terrified that I'm going to lose someone else. And so far, it's looking likely._

_Jeremy's asleep in the other room. It's just me now. Sitting here. Alone. Scared. After the events of the day, I'm completely exhausted, but wide awake._

_The only thing I can think to do is to go and sit on the porch. It probably isn't the safest idea. What with Alaric running around. But I cannot sit here any longer._

_I pull on the nearest sweater I can find, and head down to the front door, turning on the porch light as I go. To anxious to sit, I make myself comfortable resting against the railing._

"_Been a rough night all around, hasn't it?" A distinctly British voice says from somewhere in the bushes._

_Klaus? No... Klaus' heart stopped beating. His body was laying somewhere, unable to move, dead in every way except for the "man's" conscience._

"_Come now, don't be afraid. I just want to talk."_

_That was most definitely Klaus' voice. But how..?_

"_Klaus?"_

"_Yes Elena. Very good." He steps out of the shadows. Hands up when she starts, he grins. "Now, now, don't be frightened. I just want to talk."_

_Before I can move back into the house, he has my arms held tight at my side, facing him. "Where are they, Elena?" His voice, tight with suppressed anger, raises the hairs on her neck._

"_I don't know what you're talking about." I say as I try to pull away, unsuccessful in his loose supernatural grip._

"_Oh I think you do." He sneers. When she doesn't answer, he adds, "Stefan, and Damon, Salvatore, Elena, where are they?"_

_Clearly struggling, he loosens his grip and prepares a new approach._

_He's holding my arms, gently, soothingly, stroking me with his thumbs. "I know you're scared Elena, but I won't hurt you. That wouldn't do anyone any good, would it?"_

_I'm too confused at his actions to think up a good response. I only nod._

"_Good girl. Tell me where they've gone, love." His eyes seem soft, but I know better._

"_I would never tell you that." I snap._

_His face doesn't grow dark, instead, he looks... Understanding._

"_Fine then. Maybe later."_

"_How are you alive?" I can't bite my tongue fast enough. The words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them._

_He laughs. "Alive? Elena, I haven't been alive in thousands of years." The laugh seems to reach his eyes._

"_Just answer me."_

"_And why would I do that? Since you've been so helpful about the boys?" He states pointedly._

_Knowing I've lost, I look away, unable to hold his gaze any longer. As much as I know that I want to show him I'm not afraid, I'm still just as close to tears as I was before. If he saw me cry... That would be worse than anything he's done to me ever._

"_Fine. A trade then. I'll tell you, and then you tell me." He doesn't wait for me to object. He starts his story right away. "Rebekah foundme. She brought me to Elijah. They restored me. That is all." He smirks, thinking he's one. All I can do is stall for time._

"_I thought Rebekah and you had a big fight and she never wanted to talk to you again." It works. His eyes are guarded, but he seems willing enough to talk._

"_She's my sister, Elena."I can't help but notice, his usual impatient tone is nowhere to be found._

"_You're over a thousand years old." _Easy Elena, _I think to myself. _Doppelganger or not, he could still snap your neck.

_He smiles. Weird. "Exactly. When you have an eternity to live, you keep those around you love whether you hate them or not. You may find yourself lonely some day." He cocks his head to the side. "Surely you understand that, Elena."_

"_Yeah, I do." I'm curious now. All he's done to get rid of his family. After all that, he's telling me he wants to keep them around. Is it a trap? To lure me into telling him about Stefan and Damon? I can't see how that's possible, given the context, but Klaus is nothing if not sneaky. "She was happy to have you back then I guess."_

"_Fairly, her and Elijah have taken off. I expect they'll visit though. Perhaps try to convince me to go with them."_

"_So why don't you?"_

_His expression is guarded again. "I have more important things to deal with."_

_There he goes again... One second, saying his family is the most important thing. And then..._

"_What happened to keeping your family around?"_

"_Elena," he releases me and looks around in frustration. "My situation, is slightly more complicated, than what you make it out to be."_

"_Because you're different from them." He watches me, eyes unyielding, and at the same time - or maybe my eyes are playing tricks on me – willing. "Like me."_

_He stiffens, drawing into himself. As much as I hate this man with all that I am, I feel like I can kind of relate to him. _No Elena, you're just _really _tired. _I'm not sure if I'm lying to myself, or hiding from the truth when I think this._

_He seems to know exactly what I'm thinking though._

"_Right, like you. And _you, _should go to bed." Did he forget about Stefan and Damon? No, he couldn't have. Maybe he's waiting for me to open up, or have a reason to think I can. Either way, I nod. He smiles. "It's been a rough day all round._

_He turns and walks away, and that's the last I see of him until the next night._

_He'd come frequently over the weeks, coming at night, talking. One night it rained, and I don't know what compelled me to do it – the irony that played over my thoughts was not lost on me – but I invited him in. Jeremy was beside himself. He shouted and through things and threatened, but strangely enough, he warmed up to Klaus, the same way I had. _

_The weirdness didn't stop there though. As Klaus opened up to us more and more, he began to do other things too. He came over occasionally in the daytime now. He brought pizza once, and another time, (he doesn't know I know it) he made an arrangement with Jeremy to help us out financially. He was started to become sort of a guardian to us._

_He never fit in with his family. He betrayed them because he was afraid of them. He didn't trust them... He didn't want to get hurt. But I think we've gotten through to him, me and Jeremy. I think he's starting to trust us. And as I open up more to him, telling him things about Damon and Stefan that I'd never even really admitted to myself, all worries about giving out information about him go away._

_Our final barriers were broken the night after Rebekah came to visit. They'd fought. She wanted him to leave with her. He refused. He came over. And somehow we ended up in my bed, snuggled up, blasting music, and crying. Turns out, Klaus has emotions._

_After this became the daily routine; wake up, make breakfast, see Klaus, go to school, get Klaus' help with homework (we were shocked too) and a few other domestic things, we started to settle into each other's company._

_I still see Caroline and Tyler often. But with Alaric around, it's getting risky. Klaus still has a thing for Caroline. But they've only run into each other a few brief times, with very, _very_ few words exchanged between them._


End file.
